Recording and/or reproducing device for disks

ABSTRACT

In an on-vehicle disc player having a disc elevator ( 22 ) for making a plurality of trays ( 2 ) each having a CD placed on it stacked one over another in the vertical direction move in the stacking direction, there is provided plate springs ( 2 e) for pressing an inserted CD at both sides of the tray ( 2 ). Further, there is provided separating cams ( 82 ) for forming spaces at both side of the tray ( 2 ) having a CD to be reproduced, by the movement in the fore-and-aft direction. Holding means for holding and rotating the CD are inserted to the spaces formed by the separating cams ( 82 ) to hold the CD. Thereafter, by pushing down the plate springs ( 2 e) which has pushed and caught the CD in the tray ( 2 ) by means of peripheral portions ( 82 x) of lower faces of upper stage entering portions ( 82 j) of the separating cams ( 82 ), the CD is released and the tray ( 2 ) is pushed down to be separated from the CD. This enables the reproduction at the same position as the supporting position, and thereby it becomes possible to make the apparatus small in size.

More than one reissue application has been filed for the reissue of U.S.Pat. No. 6,724,713. The reissue applications are application Ser. No.11/407,396 (Parent reissue application), filed Apr. 20, 2006, now issuedas RE42,041 on Jan. 18, 2011, and application Ser. No. 11/984,087(present continuation reissue application).

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a disc recording and/or reproducingapparatus for storing in it and recording and/or reproducing a pluralityof discs.

BACKGROUND ART

As a disc recording and/or reproducing apparatus equipped on a vehiclefor the purpose of playing a sound, there is a disc player. Such a discplayer employs a method of storing a plurality of discs, for example,compact discs (hereinafter referred to as CDs) in a magazine andreplacing a plurality of CDs in one magazine together at a time. Sinceit is made large-sized due to this arrangement, its main body portion isstored in a trunk, while only portions necessary for operation areinstalled in a passenger compartment. However, since CDs cannot bereplaced when a vehicle is traveling, it is necessary to stop thevehicle and open the trunk for the replacement, and this is troublesome.

In response to this, an on-vehicle disc player to be put in a vehiclecompartment has been developed in recent years. An on-vehicle discplayer is demanded to store a plurality of CDs in it and is put in aspecified space of the dashboard in a vehicle passenger compartment.Therefore, it has been an important problem to make an on-vehicle discplayer small-sized.

Such an on-vehicle disc player forms a disc storing portion by stackingone over another, for example, six trays (disc carrying means) eachcarrying a CD on it in an enclosure (case) being nearly in the shape ofa rectangular parallelepiped having a fixed size called size 1 DIN orthe like for example, and makes it possible to individually insert andeject the six CDs and makes it possible to select and reproduce one outof the six CDs.

However, since the on-vehicle disc player must store in it a pluralityof CDs and contain components related to control of the respectivemechanisms for performing many operations such as insertion, ejection,reproducing (recording) and the like of a CD, it has been difficult tomake the whole apparatus small-sized.

Conventionally, an insertion position and a reproducing position for aCD have been offset with each other in the plane direction of the CD asshown in FIG. 36. That is to say, when a CD is inserted in theconventional apparatus, the CD is caught by a pair of fins 300 fixed toa tray (omitting to show in Figure) for the CD. When the apparatusreproduces the CD, the CD has been moved from the caught position and aclearance 400 has been formed from the fins 300 to the CD in the planedirection.

Therefore, there has been a problem that the apparatus becomes large bya dimension D for the clearance 400.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide a disc recordingand/or reproducing apparatus simplified in composition and made small insize.

A disc recording and/or reproducing apparatus of the present inventionis characterized by a disc recording and/or reproducing apparatuscomprising: a catching means for catching a disc, the catching meansbeing provided in a disc mounting means for mounting the disc; areleasing means for releasing a caught condition of the disc caught bythe catching means after setting the disc to a turntable while keeping adirection of the disc surface; and a separating means for separating thedisc from the disc mounting means in a condition that the disc is set onthe turntable.

A disc recording and/or reproducing apparatus of the present inventionis characterized by a disc recording and/or reproducing apparatuscomprising: a catching means for catching a disc, the catching meansbeing provided in a disc mounting means for mounting the disc; areleasing means for releasing a caught condition of the disc caught bythe catching means after setting the disc to a turntable while keeping adirection of the disc surface; and a separating means for separating thedisc from the disc mounting means in a condition that the disc is set onthe turntable; wherein the catching means comprises a plate spring whichpushes a face of a circumferential portion of the disc.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the appearance of a disc player showingan embodiment of a disc recording and/or reproducing apparatus accordingto the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the disc player;

FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of the present invention, and figure (a)thereof is an exploded perspective view of a disc storing portion of thedisc player, and figure (b) thereof is a partially cutaway perspectiveview of a main part of trays;

FIG. 4 shows the disc storing portion of the disc player, and figure (a)thereof is a plan view of it and figure (b) thereof is a front view;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the inside of the forward portion of thecase seen from the back side;

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of a transfer means, a turningforce supplying means and the like;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a reproducing means;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view of a main part of a holding means;

FIG. 9 is a plan view of a pickup unit;

FIG. 10 shows a positioning means, and figure (a) thereof is a back viewin case that the holding means is positioned at the standby position andfigure (b) thereof is a back view in case that the holding means ispositioned at the reproducing position;

FIG. 11 shows an operation means, and figure (a) thereof is a front viewof a pickup elevator and a disc elevator, and figure (b) thereof is afront view of an inner slider, and figure (c) thereof is a front view ofan outer slider;

FIG. 12 is an operation explaining diagram of the operation means,showing a mode changeover position in the insertion/ejection mode forinserting or ejecting a CD;

FIG. 13 shows a case of inserting or ejecting the second CD from thetop, and figure (a) thereof is an operation explaining diagram of theoperation means in the waiting state where the second CD is selected,and figure (b) thereof is an operation explaining diagram of theoperation means in a state where a shutter is open;

FIG. 14 is an operation explaining diagram of the operation means in astate where pushing-out levers are turned in case of ejecting the secondCD from the top;

FIG. 15 shows the reproducing mode for reproducing a CD, and figure (a)thereof is an operation explaining diagram of the operation means incase of reproducing the sixth CD from the top, and figure (b) thereof isan operation explaining diagram of the operation means in case ofreproducing the first CD from the top;

FIG. 16 shows a case of reproducing the second CD from the top, andfigure (a) thereof is an operation explaining diagram of the operationmeans when the pin is at position D in the waiting state and figure (b)thereof is an operation explaining diagram of the operation means whenthe pin is at position I in the reproducing state;

FIG. 17 shows the disc player at the time of inserting a CD, and figure(a) thereof is a plan view of it and figure (b) thereof is a front view;

FIG. 18 is a sectional side view of the disc player at the time ofinserting a CD;

FIG. 19 shows a pushing-out means at the time of ejecting a CD, andfigure (a) thereof is a plan view of it and figure (b) thereof is afront view;

FIG. 20 is a sectional side view of the pushing-out means at the time ofejecting a CD;

FIG. 21 shows operation of a separating cam, and figure (a) thereof isan operation explaining diagram showing the relation to movement oftrays, and figure (b) thereof is an operation explaining diagram showingthe relation to a pin;

FIG. 22 is a side view showing a state before the separating camseparates the trays;

FIG. 23 is a side view showing a state where the trays are separatedinto two by the separating cam;

FIG. 24 is a side view showing a state where the trays are separatedinto three by the separating cam;

FIG. 25 is a side view showing a state where the trays are separatedinto three and thereafter only a selected tray descends and a selectedCD mounts a turntable and is held by a catching means;

FIG. 26 is a side view showing a state where the selected CD is held bythe catching means and thereafter only the selected tray descends againand leaves the selected CD;

FIG. 27 is an explanatory diagram showing a state where a plate springof the selected tray rises and the selected CD is released at the timeof reproducing;

FIG. 28 shows a turning force supplying means, and figure (a) thereof isan operation explaining diagram showing a state where a turning force isnot supplied, and figure (b) thereof is an operation explaining diagramshowing a state where a turning force is supplied;

FIG. 29 is an operation explaining diagram showing a state where aturning force is supplied to the catching means;

FIG. 30 is an operation explaining diagram showing a state where theholding means occupies the standby position;

FIG. 31 is an operation explaining diagram showing a state where theholding means occupies the reproducing position;

FIG. 32 shows a state of a regulation means when the holding meansoccupies the standby position, and figure (a) is an operation explainingdiagram of it and figure (b) is a main part explaining diagram;

FIG. 33 shows the regulation means when the holding means occupies thereproducing position, and figure (a) thereof is an operation explainingdiagram showing a state of hindering the holding, and figure (b) thereofis an operation explaining diagram showing a state of canceling thehindrance;

FIG. 34 is an operation explaining diagram showing a state where theholding means holds a CD due to cancellation of the hindrance by theregulation means;

FIG. 35 is an explanatory diagram showing a state that a releasing meansand a separating means according to the present invention releases a CDand separates the CD from the tray at the same position as the CDcatching position; and

FIG. 36 is an explanatory diagram showing problems of a conventionalrecording/reproducing apparatus.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

An embodiment of a disc recording and/or reproducing apparatus accordingto the present invention is described with reference to the drawings inthe following.

This embodiment is a disc player for reproducing a sound which thepresent invention is applied to.

(A) Whole Composition of a Disc Player

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 11, in a broad way a disc player comprises a case1 for forming its appearance, a disc storing portion 3 disposed at thefront part in the case 1 and consisting of a plurality of trays 2 (disccarrying means) each of which carries a CD, a transfer means 5 providedat an insertion/ejection opening 4 of the front face plate 1a of thecase 1 and inserting or ejecting a CD into or from the disc storingportion 3, an opening/closing means 6 provided at the front side of thetransfer means 5 and opening or closing the insertion/ejection opening 4of the front face plate 1a, a reproducing means 7 provided at the backpart in the case 1 and selecting and reproducing one out of CDs in thedisc storing portion 3, a pushing-out means 8 being provided at theright and left sides of the back of the disc storing portion 3 andpushing out a CD to be ejected toward the transfer means 5, and anoperation means 9 provided mainly outside the right and left side plates1b and 1c of the case 1 and operating the disc storing means 3, thereproducing means 7 and the like.

The reproducing means 7 comprises a space forming means 11 disposed atboth sides of a pickup elevator 10 rising and lowering for forming spaceover and under a CD to be reproduced out of a plurality of CDs in thedisc storing portion 3, a holding means 14 (driving portion) whichcomprises an upper arm 12 and a lower arm 13 rotatably provided on thepickup elevator 10 and enters the space and holds a selected CD, a CDdriving means 15 (driving portion) being attached to the lower arm 13and rotationally driving a CD held, a pickup unit 16 being provided onthe lower arm 13 and reading information from a rotating CD, a turningforce supplying means 17 for transferring a driving force of thetransfer means 5 to the holding means 14 to turn a CD only in thereproducing mode out of the insertion/ejection mode being a state forinserting/ejecting a CD and the reproducing mode being a state forreproducing a CD, and a regulation means 18 for setting the time whenthe holding means 14 holds a CD.

(B) Case

First, the case 1 is described. The case 1 comprises a front face plate1a, side plates 1b and 1c, a ceiling plate 1d and a bottom plate 1e, andits back is opened. And the side plates 1b, 1c and the bottom plate 1eare formed into one body.

(C) Disc Storing Portion

As shown in FIG. 3(a), in this embodiment, the disc storing portion 3comprises six trays 2 each being a disc carrying means and a discelevator 22 carrying the six trays 2, and at the front part of the case1, four guide poles 23 along the vertical direction as a supportingmeans are supported by joining both their ends to the bottom plate 1eand the ceiling plate 1d.

As shown in FIG. 4, each tray 2 is formed by adhering a resin member 2bto the upper face of each of both side parts of a thin aluminum plate2a. A pair of pins 2c and 2d projecting sidewards are formed at a middlepart and the backward part of each resin member 2b, and the pins beingat the middle part are longer and the pins being at the backward partare shorter. The height of the resin member 2b is set nearly at the sameas the thickness of a CD, and the front part of a plate spring 2e(catching means for catching a disc) for catching a CD located betweenthe resin member 2b and the aluminum plate 2a is fixed on the upper faceof the resin member 2b.

A pressing portion 2f for pressing a CD is formed on the inside of thebackward part of the plate spring 2e, while a receiving portion 2g to bepressed down by the lower face of a separating cam 82 described laterand a receiving portion 2h to receive an upward force by the lower faceof an upper stage entering portion 82j described later are formed on theoutside of the back part of the plate spring 2e. Guide holes 2i forhaving the guide poles 23 inserted through into them are formed so as topass through the resin member 2b and the aluminum plate 2a respectivelyat the front part and the back part of the resin member 2b.

A shock absorbing member unshown is adhered along a circular arc toparts of both faces of the aluminum plate 2a which the vicinity of theouter circumferential face of a CD is brought into contact with. At bothends of the resin member 2b on the top tray 2, as shown in FIG. 3(a),cylindrical spring receivers 2j each receiving a coil spring 24 as anenergizing means provided between the ceiling plate 1d and the top tray2 are formed into one body with the resin member 2b, and as shown inFIG. 3(b), the bottom of the spring receiver 2j projects slightly insideto form a receiving part 2k and this receiving part 2k receives thelower end of the coil spring 24. This is provided in order to prevent aload necessary for compressing the spring from becoming too large evenif the length of compression is made large by using a long spring as thespring.

On the other hand, the disc elevator 22 is formed in a shape in whichthe right and left end parts of it are bent upward. Guide holes 22a forhaving the guide poles 23 inserted through into them are formed in thehorizontal part of it and a pair of pins 22b projecting horizontally forlifting and lowering the disc elevator 22 are fixed on the outside ofeach of the right and left vertical parts. The pair of pins 22b areinserted through into two vertical slits 25 formed in each of the sideplates 1b and 1c of the case 1 to project outside the case 1.

The disc elevator 22 and six trays 2 are supported so as to be freelylifted and lowered by inserting the guide poles 23 through into theseguide holes 22a and 2i. And the upper and lower ends of four springguides 26 are fixed respectively on the ceiling plate 1d and the bottomplate 1e of the case 1, and the spring guides 26 are respectivelyinserted through into the spring receivers 2j. And the lower end of acoil spring 24 as an energizing means provided so as to surround thespring guide 26 is in contact with the receiving part of the lower endof the spring receiver 2j.

(D) Transfer Means

As shown in FIG. 2, the transfer means 5 is provided on the front faceplate 1a of the case 1. The front face plate 1a has theinsertion/ejection opening 4 formed in it. A driving shaft 30 and adriven shaft 31 are rotatably supported at the insertion/ejectionopening 4. Both ends of the driving shaft 30 are rotatably attached tothe front face plate 1a. Both ends of the driven shaft 31 are insertedinto slots 32 formed long in the vertical direction in the sides of thefront face plate 1a.

In order to support the middle parts of the driving shaft 30 and thedriven shaft 31, as shown in FIG. 5, a small-diameter portion in amiddle part of the driving shaft 30 is rotatably fitted into a groove33a in the back part of a resin bearing 33 restricted in downwardmovement, while a small-diameter portion in a middle part of the drivenshaft 31 is rotatably fitted into a groove 34a in the back part of aresin bearing 34 capable of freely moving up and down through a pair ofguide projections and a pair of grooves being unshown.

A pair of rollers 35 made of resin are attached to the driven shaft 31and a pair of rollers 36 made of rubber are attached to the drivingshaft 30, and both of them are restricted by unshown stop rings insliding in the axial directions. A circumferential groove is formed ineach end of the driven shaft 31 and both ends of a spring 38 forpressing the driven shaft 31 toward the driving shaft 30 are engagedwith the circumferential groove and a spring engaging pin 37 fixed oneach side of the front face plate 1a.

Means for driving the driving shaft 30 is described. As shown in FIG. 6,a gear 39 is fixed on the right end of the driving shaft 30, and a gear40, a gear 41, and gears 42 and 43 formed into one body are supported soas to freely rotate inside the right side plate 1c. A worm 44 engagedwith the gear 43 and a gear 45 are rotatably supported as one body onthe bottom plate 1e, and the gear 45 is engaged with a worm 47 fixed onthe output shaft of a transfer motor 46 mounted on the bottom plate 1e.

In order to automatically perform an operation of further pushing in aCD by a few millimeters more after insertion of the CD by the rollers 35and 36 has finished, a pushing-in means 48 is provided as shown in FIGS.2 and 5. Three pairs of guide slots 49, 50 and 51 each being in theshape of a long slot are formed along the horizontal directionrespectively above and below the insertion/ejection opening 4 in thefront face plate 1a.

A pair of slide stands 52 are provided on the right and left parts ofthe back of the front face plate 1a, and three guide pins 53, 54 and 55fixed on each slide stand 52 are inserted into the guide slots 49, 50and 51 so that they cannot be pulled out.

A vertical roller 57 made of resin is rotatably supported through avertical shaft 56 at the back part of each of the slide stands 52. Inorder to push the pair of slide stands 52 toward each other, apushing-in spring 60 is provided between a spring engaging portion 58formed on the front face plate 1a and a spring engaging portion 59formed on each slide stand 52.

A CD being at a height position where the vertical roller 57 is disposedis horizontally positioned by the vertical roller 57, but a CD below orabove the vertical roller 57 is positioned by positioning rods 61 and 62stood on the bottom plate 1e as shown in FIG. 5 and a pair of unshownpositioning rods attached to the ceiling plate 1d to hang from it (whichare arranged on the extension lines of the positioning rods 61 and 62,and a space which a CD to be inserted or ejected passes through isformed between the positioning rods 61 and 62).

(E) Opening/closing Means

An opening/closing means 6 for opening/closing the insertion/ejectionopening 4 of the front face plate 1a is described. As shown in FIG. 2, ashutter 64 is provided so as to freely move up and down at the frontside of the front face plate 1a. An opening 64a for making a CD passthrough it is formed in the shutter 64, and when the shutter 64 rises,the middle height position of the opening 64a occupies the boundaryposition between the rollers 35 and 36 to bring an “opened” state, andwhen the shutter falls, a “closed” state is brought.

That is to say, a pair of upper and lower guide pins 65 are stood ateach of the right and left parts of the front face plate 1a, while apair of vertically long guide slots 64b are formed at each of the rightand left parts of the shutter 64 and a stop ring is fitted onto the foreend of each guide pin 65 inserted through into each guide slot 64b.

In order to enable the interval between the pair of slide stands 52 tobecome large only when the shutter rises to be “opened”, the pair ofguide pins 54 near the center are made longer than the other guide pins53 and 55, and L-shaped guide slots 64c for inserting the guide pins 54into them are formed in the shutter 64.

In order to make the shutter 64 forcibly rise to be “opened” when theinterval between the pair of vertical rollers 57 is expanded and a CD isforcibly ejected for some reason, a guide rail portion 64d is formed onthe upper face of this guide slot 64c.

Next, a link mechanism for opening and closing the shutter 64 isdescribed. Guide slots 66a being long in the right and left directionsare formed in the front face and underside of a lateral (right and left)slide plate 66 being nearly L-shaped in cross section, while guide pins67 inserted into the guide slots 66a are fixed on the front face plate1a and the bottom plate 1e.

A cam slot 64e is formed in the lower part at each side of the shutter64, while a slide pin 66b is fixed on each end part at the front face ofthe lateral slide plate 66 and the slide pin 66b is inserted into thecam slot 64e. Spring engaging portions 66c and 68 projecting downward asshown in FIG. 17(b) are formed respectively on the underside of thelateral slide plate 66 and on the underside of the bottom plate 1e, anda return spring 69 is engaged between both of them.

A longitudinal slide plate 70 is provided on the left underside of thebottom plate 1e so as to freely slide in the longitudinal (forward andbackward) directions. That is to say, a pair of guide slots 70a areformed in the longitudinal slide plate 70, while an unshown gib-headedpin inserted into the guide slot 70a is fixed on the bottom plate 1e.

A bent portion of a nearly L-shaped lever 72 is rotatably attached tothe underside of the bottom plate 1e through a fixed shaft 73 as shownin FIG. 5, and slots 72a and 72a are formed at the end parts of thelever 72. And pins 66d and 70b respectively fixed to the lateral slideplate 66 and the longitudinal slide plate 70 are slidably fitted intothe slots 72a and 72a. A pressed portion 70c to be pressed by an outerslider 140 described later is formed in the longitudinal slide plate 70.

(F) Reproducing Means

A reproducing means 7 is arranged closely to the back of the discstoring portion 3 in order to make the disc player as small in depth aspossible. Since a holding means 14 in the reproducing means 7 is mountedon the pickup elevator 10 as shown in FIG. 2, the pickup elevator 10 isfirst described.

The pickup elevator 10 is made by forming a horizontal plate andvertical plates at both sides of it into one body, and a cut-out portion10a being in the shape of a circular arc is formed to allow a CD to comein at the front side of the horizontal plate. A pair of horizontallyprojecting pins 77 for lifting and lowering the pickup elevator 10 arefixed on each of the vertical plates. The pair of pins 77 are arrangedat the same height and are made shorter than the pair of pins 22b of thedisc elevator 22. These pins 77 are inserted through into a pair ofvertical slits 78 a formed in each of the side plates 1b and 1c of thecase 1 to project outside the case 1.

(F-1) Space Forming Means (Releasing Means, Separating Means)

As shown in FIG. 2, as a space forming means 11 for forming space overand under a selected CD by being inserted between trays 2 verticallystacked one-over another, separating cams 82 made of resin are providedso as to freely slide in the longitudinal directions inside the verticalplates of both sides of the pickup elevator 10.

That is to say, a guide slot 10a is formed in the forward upper part ofthe vertical plate of the pickup elevator 10 and a gib-headed guide pin82a inserted into the guide slot 10a is fixed on the separating cam 82,while a guide slot 82b is formed in the lower part of the separating cam82 as shown in FIG. 3 and a gib-headed guide pin 10b of FIG. 2 insertedinto the guide slot 82b is fixed at an intermediate position in thelongitudinal directions of the vertical plate.

The separating cams functions not only as a space forming means 11, butalso as a releasing means and a separating means of the presentinvention, as described later.

The separating cams 82 are inserted toward the tray 2 and stably carrythe tray 2 by pushing up four pins 2c and 2d at both sides of the tray 2and form space over and under the tray 2 carrying a CD to be reproduced.

The separating cams 82 each are formed in such a shape that two platesdifferent in length in the longitudinal directions, the plates eachhaving a slit formed in it, are adhered to each other, and are composedso as to make the separating cams 82 slide into both sides of a tray 2and thereby make the forward parts move up a pair of longer pins 2c andthe backward parts move up a pair of shorter pins 2d.

That is to say, they are composed as follows. A pair of first separationcontrol portions 82c1, 82c1 are formed in order to move up a selectedtray 2 carrying a selected CD and trays 2 above this selected tray 2,and a pair of second separation control portions 82c2, 82c2 for movingup only the trays 2 above the selected tray 2 are formed above the firstseparation control portions 82c1.

Third separation control portions 82d, 82d for holding only the selectedtray 2 are formed respectively between the first separation controlportions 82c1 and the second separation control portions 82c2. An upperface 82f for holding the positions of the pins 2c and 2d of the tray 2over the selected tray 2 and a lower face 82h as a position controlmeans for holding the positions of the pins 2c and 2d of the tray 2under the selected tray 2 and pressing the receiving portion 2g of theplate spring 2e are formed along the direction of movement of theseparating cam 82.

Since the pins 2c and 2d of the selected tray 2 and the tray 2 over theselected tray 2 are pushed up by the advance of the first and secondseparation control portions 82c1 and 82c2, they are originally set at afixed value such as ?=45° or the like, for example. In this case,however, the trays 2 are lifted as compressing the coil springs 24, andthe higher the trays 2 are lifted, the more greatly the coil springs 24are compressed and the load applied when pushing up the trays 2 becomeslarger. In other words, the load is small at the initial stage ofcompressing the coil springs 24. As shown in FIG. 21(a), therefore, theupper parts of the first and second separation control portions 82c1 and82c2 take ?1=45° for example, while the lower parts take ?2=60° forexample, and the intermediate parts between both of them are formed byarc-shaped faces 82t.

Next, the third separation control portions 82d, 82d are described. Thethird separation control portions 82d, 82d are composed of upper stageentering portions 82j, 82j, intermediate stage entering portions 82k,82k and lower stage entering portions 82m, 82m (separating means). Theupper stage entering portions 82j, 82j are used for forming space overand under a selected tray 2, the intermediate stage entering portions82k, 82k are used for lowering the selected tray 2 and a selected CD andplacing the selected CD on a turntable 97 of a lower arm 13, and thelower stage entering portions 82m, 82m are used for lowering again onlythe selected tray 2 and separating the selected tray 2 from the selectedCD.

As mentioned later, there is provided a peripheral portion 82x(releasing means) for pushing up the receiving portions 2h of the platesprings 2 of the selected tray 2 according to the advance of theseparating cams 82 under the upper stage entering portions 82j.

(F-2) Holding Means

The holding means 14, which is turned toward the space formed over andunder a selected CD by the space forming means 11 and holds the selectedCD, is described. The base end portions of the lower arm 13 and an upperarm 12 are turnably attached to the left part of the pickup elevator 10.That is to say, they are made as follows.

As shown in FIG. 8, the vicinity of the lower end of a hollow shaft 86is fixed on the lower arm 13, and the lower end of this hollow shaft 86penetrates the pickup elevator 10 so as to freely turn and has a flatwasher 93 and a stop ring 94 attached to it for preventing it fromslipping out. And a sleeve 87 made of a copper alloy penetrates and isfixed to the base end portion of the upper arm 12, and a selected CD isheld between the lower arm 13 and the upper arm 12 descending inparallel with the lower arm 13 by keeping the hollow shaft 86 insertedthrough into the sleeve 87.

The upper end portion of the hollow shaft 86 penetrates a flat washer 88and has a stop ring attached to it and, a holding spring 89 for pressingdownward the upper arm 12 is provided between the flat washer 88 and thesleeve 87.

A sliding pin 90 stood on the lower arm 13 as shown in FIG. 7 isslidably inserted through into a slot 91 formed in the upper arm 12 sothat the lower arm 13 and the upper arm 12 are turned around the hollowshaft 86 synchronously with each other as one body without turningrelative to each other. In order to improve the accuracy of positioninga turntable 97 described later on the lower arm 13 and a CD when theholding means 14 is turned, a supporting pole 92 stood on the bottomplate 1e is inserted through into the hollow shaft 86 on the pickupelevator 10.

(F-3) Disc Driving Means

A disc driving means 15 is provided on the upper face of the fore endportion of the lower arm 13. That is to say, a spindle motor 96 ismounted as shown in FIG. 7, and a turntable 97 to be fitted into thecentral hole of a CD is mounted on the output shaft of the spindle motor96. On the other hand, one end of a supporting plate 98 is fixed to thevicinity of the fore end of the upper arm 12 as shown in FIG. 34, andthe other end portion has a circular hole formed in it.

A chuck plate 99 made of resin and having a ridge-shaped convex portionformed along a circle on the underside of a disc is freely turnablyfitted into the hole from above. This chuck plate 99 is prevented fromslipping out by one end of an unshown spring plate fixed at the otherend of it on the underside of the upper arm 12.

(F-4) Pickup Unit

A pickup unit 16 is also mounted on the upper face of the lower arm 13as shown in FIG. 9. The composition of the pickup unit 16 is describedin the following. An optical pickup 162 is provided so as to freely movealong the direction of length of the lower arm 13 through a guide rail161 formed into one body with the lower arm 13. And a means for makingthe optical pickup 162 reciprocate along the guide rail 161 is provided.

A screw shaft 164 is turnably supported on the upper face of the lowerarm 13 through a pair of bearing members 163, and an unshown internalthread portion of the optical pickup 162 is screwed onto the screwshaft. The output shaft of a scanning motor 165 fixed near the sleeve 87is geared to this screw shaft 164.

That is to say, a gear 168 having a worm wheel 166 and a screw gear 167formed into one body is freely turnably supported, and a worm 169 of theoutput shaft is engaged with the worm wheel 166, while a screw gear 170attached to the screw shaft 164 is engaged with the screw gear 167.

(F-5) Turning Force Supplying Means

The composition of a turning force supplying means 17 for turning theholding means 14 with the driving force of the transfer motor 46 isdescribed in the following. A gear train 103 is provided inside the leftside plate 1b of the case 1 as shown in FIG. 6. That is, the gear train103 is composed of gears 103a to 103h.

On the other hand, a gear 104 is also fixed on the left end of thedriving shaft 30. A plate 105 is provided so as to freely move in thevertical directions inside the left side plate 1b. That is, a verticallylong guide slot 105a is formed in the upper part of the plate 105, and aguide pin 106 (see FIG. 28) inserted through into the guide slot 105a isfixed on the left side plate 1b and a stop ring is attached to the guidepin 106.

Spring engaging portions 105b and 107 are respectively provided on thelower parts of the plate 105 and the bottom plate 1e of the case 1, anda return spring 108 for pulling down the plate 105 is provided betweenboth of them.

A relief hole 105c, into which a shaft 109 (fixed on the side plate 1b)of the gear 103h is inserted, is formed in the plate 105, and the baseend portion of a lever 110 is turnably attached to the shaft 109. Amoving shaft 111 penetrating the lever 110 is fixed on the fore endportion of this lever 110, and a gear 112 engaged with the gear 103h isturnably attached to the moving shaft 111.

A cam slot 105d is formed above the relief hole 105c in the plate 105,and a penetrating end portion of the moving shaft 111 is insertedthrough into the cam slot 105d. That is, when the plate 105 is moved up,the cam slot 105d is moved up and the moving shaft 111 inserted in thecam slot 105d is moved forward and thereby the gear 112 attached to themoving shaft 111 comes to be engaged with a gear 104 of the drivingshaft 30.

In order to move up this plate 105, a middle portion of a lever 113 isturnably supported on the inside of the left side plate 1b through a pin114, and one end of the lever 113 is turnably coupled to the lowerportion of the plate 105 through a pin 115.

The other end of the lever 113 faces the lower part of the forward guideslot of a pair of guide slots 25 of the left side plate 1b, the guideslot having a pin 22b of the disc elevator 22 inserted into it. That is,when the disc elevator 22 comes to the lowest position to be in areproducing mode, the pin 22b presses down the other end of the lever113 to engage the gear 112 with the gear 104.

Next, the highest gear 103a of the gear train 103 and the lower arm 13of the holding means 14 are geared to each other as described in thefollowing. As shown in FIG. 2, a slide bar 116 composed of a verticalportion being long in the longitudinal directions and a horizontalportion being formed into one body with the vertical portion in the backpart of the vertical portion is provided as shown in FIG. 2.

A pair of guide slots 116a are formed near both ends of the verticalportion of the slide bar 116, and as shown in FIG. 5, a pair of guidepins 117 inserted into the pair of guide slots 116a are fixed on theinside of the left side plate 1b and have stop rings attached to them.In such a way, a rack 116b is formed on the forward underside of theslide bar 116 capable of freely sliding in the longitudinal directionsand is engaged with the gear 103a, while the upper end of an engagingpin 116c projecting downward is fixed to the end portion of the backwardhorizontal portion.

This engaging pin 116c is slidably fitted into a slot 13a of ahorizontal portion which is formed as one body at the base end portionof the lower arm 13 and extends to the height of the upper arm 12. Thisslot 13a is formed long along a radial line which passes the axis of thesleeve 87 and is perpendicular to the sleeve 87.

The disc player has two operation modes including an insertion/ejectionmode for inserting or ejecting a CD into or from the disc storingportion 3 and a reproducing mode for reproducing a CD, and the holdingmeans 14 occupies position B as shown in FIG. 30 in the former mode andoccupies position A as shown in FIG. 31 in the latter mode.

The turning operation of the holding means 14 between position B andposition A is performed through the turning force supplying means 17 asdescribed above. Since it is necessary to accurately position a selectedCD and the turntable 97 on the lower arm 13, however, a positioningmeans 118 of FIG. 10 is provided.

The structure of the positioning means 118 is described in thefollowing. As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the upper end of a positioningpin 119 projecting downward is fixed on the lower arm 13 near the hollowshaft 86. On the other hand, a circular-arc slot 10c is formed in a partof the pickup elevator 10 corresponding to a range in which thepositioning pin 119 moves when the holding means 14 is turned, and thepositioning pin 119 is slidably fitted into the circular-arc slot 10c.

A spring engaging portion 10d projecting downward is formed on thepickup elevator 10, and both ends of a toggle spring 120 are engagedwith the spring engaging portion 10d and the positioning pin 119.Assuming that a position occupied by the positioning pin 119 when theholding means 14 occupies position B or A is position b or a, position cbeing a middle point between b and a is an inflection point at which thedirection of movement of the positioning pin 119 and the spring engagingportion 10d is arranged at a position corresponding to position c.

(F-6) Regulation Means

The upper arm 12 of the holding means 14 is pressed downward by theholding spring 89, and a regulation means 18 for setting the time whenthe upper arm is to be lowered by the pressing force of this holdingspring 89 is provided as shown in FIG. 7. That is to say, this iscomposed as follows.

A cylindrical plate 124 is stood between the holding means 14 and theseparating cam 82 on the upper face of the pickup elevator 10. Thiscylindrical plate 124 forms a partial cylinder being a part of acylinder having the sleeve 87 as its center, and as shown in FIGS. 32and 33, the cylindrical plate 124 has an L-shaped guide slot 125 formedin it, the slot being composed of a horizontal portion 125a being longin the circumferential direction and a vertical portion 125b long in theaxial direction.

On the other hand, a guide pin 12a projecting outside in the directionof a radius having the sleeve 87 as its center is fixed on the base endportion of the upper arm 12, and the guide pin 12a is inserted in theguide slot 125.

Due to this, since the guide pin 12a is located on the horizontalportion 125a when the holding means 14 occupies position B being astandby position and while it moves from position B to a position juston this side of position A in FIG. 7, even if the upper arm 12 ispressed by a pressing force of the holding spring 89, it is not loweredand the holding means 14 is kept in the opened state. On the other hand,since the guide pin 12a is located in the vertical portion 125b when theholding means 14 comes to position B, the upper arm 12 is lowered by thepressing force of the holding spring 89 and the guide pin 12a alsoresults in descending to the lower end of the vertical portion 125b.

In order to make the holding means 14 not immediately perform a holdingoperation even when the holding means 14 turns to position A of FIG. 7and the guide pin 12a turns to the vertical portion 125b of the guideslot 125 but make the holding means 14 perform a holding operation atlast when it is given a command, a first regulation means fortemporarily regulating the downward movement of the guide pin 12a and asecond regulation means for removing the regulation and making theholding means 14 hold a selected CD when after the regulation theseparating cam 82 moves forward and then the selected CD and theselected tray 2 are lowered and placed on the turntable 97 are provided.That is to say, they are composed as follows.

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 30, a bearing plate 126 is stood in parallelwith the separating cam 82 between the cylindrical plate 124 and theseparating plate 82 on the upper face of the pickup elevator 10. Amiddle portion of a restriction lever 127 is turnably supported on theinside of the bearing plate 126 through a turning shaft 129 as shown inFIG. 7, and a pin 127a projecting outside is fixed on the forward partof the restriction lever 127, and the backward part of the restrictionlever 127 is curved inside and faces the vertical portion 125b of theguide slot 125.

And a spring 128 for pressing downward the backward part of therestriction lever 127 is provided as shown in FIG. 30. On the otherhand, the pin 127a of the forward part of the restriction lever 127 isloosely fitted into a cam groove 82r formed in the lower inside portionof the separating cam 82 as shown in FIG. 32. A relief portion is formedin the upper part at the back side of this cam groove 82r, and when theseparating cam 82 moves forward and the pins 2c and 2d of the selectedtray 2 enter the intermediate stage entering portions 82k and 82k, astate where the pin 127a can be relieved into the relief portion of thecam groove 82r is brought and the restriction lever 127 is turned by thespring 128 and the upper arm 12 is lowered by the pressing force of theholding spring 89.

(G) Pushing-out Means

The pushing-out means 8 is provided at each of the right and leftinsides of the case 1. Since these parts of both sides are nearly thesame in composition as each other, only one of them is described. Asshown in FIGS. 1 and 19, a pushing-out lever 132 for pushing out a CD byits turning is turnably attached to a fixed shaft 133 projectingdownward from the ceiling plate 1d of the case 1. The height of thepushing-out lever 132 is set at the same as the height between therollers 35 and 36.

Both ends of a return spring 134 provided so as to surround the fixedshaft 133 are engaged with a spring engaging portion 132a formed on thepushing-out lever 132 and a spring engaging portion formed on theceiling plate 1d.

On the other hand, this mechanism is composed so that the pushing-outlever 132 is turned by a backward movement of the separating cam 82being opposite to the action of forming space by a forward movement ofthe separating cam 82 as described up to now. That is to say, thecomposition is as follows.

As shown in FIG. 7, a plate 135 is provided so as to freely slideforward and backward by a fixed distance outside the bearing plate 126.In other words, a pair of guide slots 126a are formed in the bearingplate 126, while a guide pin 135a inserted into each guide slot 126a isfixed on the plate 135. The front end portion of the plate 135 is bentinside so as to be engaged with a pressed portion 132b formed into onebody with the pushing-out lever 132, and the back end portion of theplate 135 is bent outside to project toward the back of the separatingcam 82.

(H) Operation Means

Finally, an operation means 9 is described. This operation means 9 liftsand lowers the disc elevator 22 to enable a CD on a tray 2 on each stageto be inserted and ejected and further opens the opening/closing means 6and operates the pushing-out means 8 in the insertion/ejection mode, andlifts and lowers the pickup elevator 10 to select a CD to be reproduced,further operates the space forming means 11 and operates the regulationmeans 18 in a state where the disc elevator 22 is kept at the lowestposition in the reproducing mode.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 11, inner sliders 139 (first control plates) andouter sliders 140 (second control plates) are provided outside the leftand right side plates 1b and 1c of the case 1 so as to freely slideforward and backward. Since they are respectively symmetrical to eachother at the left and reight sides, one side of them is described. Guideslots 139a and 140a are formed in the upper and lower parts of the innerand outer sliders 139 and 140 respectively, and guide pins 158 and 159fixed on the side plate are respectively inserted into both of the guideslots 139a and 140a, and have stop rings attached to them.

A pair of stepped slits 141 (position control portion) for stepping up apair of pins 77 of the pickup elevator 10 at six steps, the pins 77projecting from the vertical slits 78, are formed in the backward partof the inner slider 139. A pair of stepped slits 142 (position controlportion) for stepping up a pair of pins 22b of the disc elevator 20 atsix steps, the pins 22b projecting from the vertical slits 25, areformed in the forward part of the inner slider 139, and bottom slits 143for keeping the disc elevator 22 at the lowest position and making onlythe pickup elevator 10 rise and fall in the reproducing mode are formedcontinuously with and under the stepped slits 142, respectively.

On the other hand, only slits, into which a pair of pins 22b beinglonger pins of the disc elevator 22 are inserted, are formed in theouter slider 140. That is to say, a pair of tetragon-shaped slits 144used in the insertion/ejection mode for putting the pair of pins 22binto the stepped slits 142 and moving up and down them, a pair ofhorizontal line-shaped slits 145 used in the reproducing mode forputting the pins 22b into the bottom slits 143 and keeping them at thelowest position, and a pair of 45°-inclined changeover slits 146 (modechangeover portion) for changing over the positions of the pair of pins22b between the pair of stepped slits 142 and the pair of bottom slits143 by moving up or down the pins 22b by means of tapered faces 146a and146b through sliding the outer slider 140 in either direction arerespectively formed continuously with one another.

Since the reproducing mode slits 145 overlap each other to be continuouswith each other if these slits 145 are formed at the same verticalposition, the reproducing mode slits 145, the insertion/ejection modeslits 144, the bottom slits 143, the stepped slits 142 and the pins tobe inserted into them are different in height from one another.

The upper back portion of the outer slider 140 is bent perpendicularlyinside to form a projecting portion 140b. A relief cutout portion 139band a relief slit 147 are formed respectively in the backward parts ofthe inner slider 139 and the side plate 1b so that this projectingportion 140b can be moved together with the outer slider 140.

In order to enable the separating cam 82 to slide together with theouter slider 140 regardless of the height position of the separating cam82 moving up and down together with the pickup elevator 10, an engaginggroove 82s is formed along the vertical direction in the outside face ofthe backward part of the separating cam 82 as shown in FIG. 2 and theprojecting portion 140b is slidably fitted into the engaging groove 82s.And an engaging portion 140c is formed by bending the front portion ofthe left outer slider 140 toward under the bottom plate 1e of the case1.

This engaging portion 140c presses backward the pressed portion 70c andopens the shutter 64 against the pressing force of the return spring 69when the outer slider 140 slides backward.

Next, a driving mechanism for sliding the right and left inner sliders139 and the right and left outer sliders 140 at the same timesynchronously with each other is described. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 6,two coupling shafts 148 and 149 are rotatably supported through twopairs of bearings under the backward part of the bottom plate 1e of thecase 1.

Pinions 150 and 151 are fixed respectively to both ends of the couplingshafts 148 and 149, and these pinions 150 and 151 are engagedrespectively with racks 139c and 140d formed on the lower parts of thebackward portions of the inner sliders 139 and outer sliders 140. Gears152 and 153 are fixed respectively on the coupling shafts 148 and 149,and operation motors 154 and 155 are individually geared to these gears152 and 153. That is to say, they are composed as follows.

The operation motors 155 and 154 are mounted at the upper and lowerpositions inside the bearing plate 126 arranged at the right side of thebackward portion of the case 1, and the output shafts of these motors155 and 154 are respectively geared to the gears 152 and 153 through twosets of reduction gear means 156 and 157 provided inside the bearingplate 126. The holding means of the present invention in theabove-mentioned embodiment comprises the plate springs 2e and thepressing portions 2f, and the releasing means and the separating meanscomprises the separating cams 82.

Next, operation of such a disc player is described.

(I) Whole Composition of the Operation

The operation of the disc player is composed of three operationsincluding the insertion of a CD into the disc storing portion 3, theejection of a CD from the disc storing portion 3 and the reproducing ofa CD which selects and reproduces one CD out of a plurality of CDsstored in the disc storing portion 3.

(J) Insertion of a CD

In case of inserting a CD into the disc storing portion 3, a numbergiven to a tray 2 (numbers 1 to 6 are given to the trays 2 in order ofheight from the top to the bottom) is selected and an unshown numberbutton, for example, button “2” is pressed and then an unshown insertionbutton is pressed.

The action that the rotation of the output shaft of the operation motor154 is transferred to the reduction gear means 156 and the couplingshaft 148 and the pair of inner sliders 139 slide, and the action thatthe rotation of the output shaft of the operation motor 155 istransferred to the reduction gear means 157 and the coupling shaft 149and the pair of outer sliders 140 slide are performed separately fromand independently of each other.

If a button is pressed when the pair of pins 22b enter the pair ofinsertion/ejection mode slits 144 of the outer slider 140 and forexample as shown in FIG. 12 the pair of pins 22b are at the modechangeover position in the insertion/ejection mode, the inner slider 139moves backward and thereby the pair of pins 22b each rise to the secondstep from the bottom of the stepped slit 142 as shown in FIG. 13(a), andsimultaneously with this, the disc elevator 22 also rises and a CD onthe second tray 2 from the top is set to the height of the pushing-outlever 132.

At this time the pickup elevator 10 also rises at the same time, butthis action is an unnecessary action. When the inner slider 139 is movedfurther backward, the pickup elevator 10 rises together with the pins22b and the third to sixth trays 2 come to the height of the pushing-outlever 132 in order.

Next, when the outer slider 140 moves backward until the pin 22b comesfrom the standby position of FIG. 13(a) to an intermediate position inthe forward and backward directions of the insertion/ejection mode slit144, since the engaging portion 140c of the outer slider 140 pressesbackward the pressed portion 70c shown in FIG. 2 under the bottom plate1e, the movement of the longitudinal slide plate 70 is transferred tothe lateral slide plate 66 through the lever 72 and the lateral slideplate 66 moves to the left against the pulling force of the returnspring 69, and the shutter 64 rises and the insertion/ejection opening 4is opened as shown in FIG. 17(b).

Since due to the above action the shutter 64 is opened and the secondtray 2 from the top has already come to the same height as thepushing-out lever 132 as described above, when attempting to insert a CD171 between the upper and lower rollers 35 and 36 as shown in FIG.17(a), an unshown sensor arranged in the center on this side of theshutter 64 detects the CD 171 and the transfer motor 46 starts turning.

Since the turning force of the transfer motor 46 is transferred to theroller 36 through the gears, the CD 171 is pulled in between the roller36 and the roller 35 pressed to the roller 36 by the spring 38 as shownin FIG. 18 and the CD is inserted onto the second tray 2 by the rotationof the rollers 35 and 36, but since the CD 171 is only inserted justapart from the rollers 35 and 36 it is pushed in by several millimetersmore by a pair of vertical rollers 57 pressed toward the center by thepushing-in springs 60.

The CD 171 is caught on the tray 2 by catching portions 2f of the pairof plate springs 2e. When the CD 171 leaves the rollers 35 and 36, anunshown limit switch operates and the transfer motor 46 stops turningand at the same time the outer slider 140 moves forward and returns tothe standby position of FIG. 13(a), and therefore the pressed portion 70which has been pressed backward is released and the shutter 64 is closedby the action of the return spring 69.

In case that the pair of pins 22b occupies another height position(first or third to sixth from the bottom) of the stepped slits 142 also,a CD can be inserted by the same operation as described above.

(K) Ejection of a CD

In case of ejecting a CD from the disc storing portion 3, for example,number button “2” and the ejection button are pressed. Thereupon, in thesame way as the insertion, the pin 22b moves for example from thechangeover position in the insertion/ejection mode of FIG. 12 to thestandby position of FIG. 13(a) and the CD on the second tray 2 from thetop is set to the height of the pushing-out lever 132. And in the sameway as described above, when the outer slider 140 moves backward untilthe pins 22b come to the position shown in FIG. 13(b), the shutter 64 isopened. The operation up to here is entirely the same as the operationof inserting a CD.

Next, when the outer slider 140 further moves backward until the pins22b come to the forward parts of the insertion mode slits 144 as shownin FIG. 14, as shown in FIG. 19 the separating cam 82 geared to theouter slider 140 through the projecting portion 140b of the back portionof the outer slider 140 moves backward and the back of the separatingcam 82 presses the back of the plate 135 to move backward.

Hereupon, the front portion of the plate 135 presses backward thepressed portion 132b of the pushing-out lever 132, and the pushing-outlever 132 is turned to push out each side of the second CD 171. Sincethe rollers 35 and 36 are already turning due to a fact that thetransfer motor 46 is turned at the same time when the ejection button ispressed, the CD pushed out is inserted between the rollers 35 and 36 andejected as shown in FIG. 20. In order to prevent the ejected CD 171 fromfalling, when a part of the backward portion of the CD 171 is betweenthe rollers 35 and 36 an unshown limit switch detects this and thetransfer motor stops turning. After this, the CD 171 results in beingpulled out by hand from between the rollers 35 and 36.

When an unshown sensor detects that the CD 171 has been extracted, theouter slider 140 moves forward and the pins 22b return from the positionof FIG. 14 to the standby position of FIG. 13(a).

Thereupon, since the backward force applied from the separating cam 82to the plate 135 is removed, the pushing-out lever 132 is turned by theelastic force of the return spring 134 and returns to the originalposition shown by a solid line in FIG. 19(a), and subsequently theshutter 64 is closed in the same way as after the insertion of a CD.

In case that the pair of pins 22b occupies another height position(first or third to sixth from the bottom) of the stepped slits 142 also,a CD can be ejected by the same operation as described above.

(L) Reproducing of a CD

In order to reproduce a CD, a number button given the number of a CD tobe reproduced, for example, button “2” and the reproducing button arepressed. Hereupon, the inner slider 139 moves forward from the state ofFIG. 13(a) and thereby the pins 22b descend to the lowest position ofthe insertion/ejection mode slit 144 to come to the mode changeoverposition and thereafter the outer slider 140 moves forward.

Hereupon, the pins 22b are lowered by pressing the upper tapered faces146b of the changeover slits 146 (see FIG. 11(c)) and are moved into thebottom slits 143 and at the same time these pins 22b are moved into thereproducing mode slits 145 of the outer slider 140 and change over tothe reproducing mode as shown in FIG. 15(a). During this changeover, thepair of pins 77 of the pickup elevator 10 stay at the lowest positionsof the stepped slits 141.

The positions of the pins 22b at this time are the changeover positionsin the reproducing mode to the insertion/ejection mode, and when theouter slider 140 is made to move backward from this state, the pins 22bare lifted by pressing the lower tapered faces 146a of the changeoverslits 146 and can return to the changeover position in theinsertion/ejection mode as shown in FIG. 12.

The positions of the pins 22b relative to the outer slider 140 shown inFIG. 15(a) are not only the mode changeover positions but also the CDselection positions for changing only the height of the pickup elevator10 and selecting a CD to be reproduced.

In other words, when only the inner slider 139 is made to move backwardfrom the position of FIG. 15(a), the pair of pins 22b seem to relativelymove forward in the bottom slits 143 but are actually kept at the lowestpositions of the vertical slits 25, and therefore the disc elevator 22stays at the lowest reproducing position but the other pair of pins 77hidden by the outer slider 140 not to be seen seem to relatively risealong the stepped slits 141 but actually rise along the vertical slits78 by steps.

That is to say, when the pair of pins 22b are located at the positionscorresponding to the numbers 1 to 6 given to the positions of the bottomslits 143 by making the inner slider 139 move backward, the pair of pins77 rise or descend to the heights corresponding to the numbers 1 to 6given in the vertical direction and a CD corresponding to the relevantnumber comes into a state where it can be reproduced. FIG. 15(a) is astate where a CD of number 6 can be reproduced, and FIG. 15(b) is astate where a CD of number 1 can be reproduced.

Since a CD of number 2 is selected here as described above, the pair ofpins 77 rise to the second position from the top as shown in FIG. 16(a).As a result of the above operation, a CD to be reproduced comes into astate where it can be reproduced, and the operation following this isthe same also in case that a CD of any number is selected, and isperformed by the movement of the outer slider 140 and the driving of thetransfer motor 46.

The action after the waiting state of FIG. 16(a) in which a CD of number2 to be reproduced is selected is described in the following. A statewhere the pin 22b occupies position D on the outer slider 140 of FIG.16(b), namely, a state of FIG. 16(a) is the waiting state, and at thistime the separating cam 82 is at the position of FIG. 22, and when theouter slider 140 moves forward and the pin 22b comes to position E asthe first stage, the separating cam 82 moves forward and the lower frontend of the backward portion of the separating cam 82 enters between thepins 2d of the second and third trays 2 from the top (as for pins 2calso, the lower front end of the forward portion of the separating cam82 enters between the pins 2c and the following operation is performedin the same way as pins 2d), and next, when the pin 22b comes toposition F as the second stage, the pin 2d of the second tray 2 from thetop slides on the first separating control portion 82c1 and mounts theupper stage entering portion 82j and the upper front end of theseparating cam 82 enters between the pins 2d of the first and secondtrays 2 from the top to come into a state of FIG. 23, and next, when thepin 22b comes to position G as the third stage, the pin 2d of the firsttray 2 from the top slides on the second separating control portion 82c2and mounts the upper face 82f of the separating cam 82. Due to this,when the pin 22b comes to position G at the third stage, space is formedover and under the selected second tray 2 from the top as shown in FIG.24.

When an unshown sensor detects that the pin 22b has come to position Gof FIG. 16(b), the transfer motor 46 starts turning. Since a state wherethe pair of pins 22b enter the bottom slits 143 and the lever 113 of theturning force supplying means 17 is pressed down has been brought whenthe operation mode is changed over to the reproducing mode as describedabove, a state has been already brought where the lever 113 is turnedcounterclockwise around the pin 114 from a state of FIG. 28(a) and theplate 105 rises and the lever 110 is turned clockwise around the shaft109 and the gear 112 is engaged also with gear 104 as being engaged withthe gear 103h as shown in FIG. 28(b).

Accordingly, the rotation of the transfer motor 46 is transferred to theslide bar 116 having a rack 116b through the driving shaft 30 and thegear train 103, and the slide bar 116 moves backward as shown in FIG.29. Hereupon, since the engaging pin 116c of the lower backward portionof the slide bar 116 is slidably fitted in a slot 13a, the holding means14 is turned forward and when the positioning pin 119 of FIG. 10(a)passes position c being the inflection point, the pressing force of thetoggle spring 120 acts in the opposite direction and the positioning pin119 is turned to position a as shown in FIG. 10(b), and as shown in FIG.24, the upper arm 12 and the chuck plate 99, and the lower arm 13 andthe turntable 97 come in respectively above and below a CD 171 to bereproduced.

Showing this with plan views, the state is changed over from FIG. 30 toFIG. 31. The transfer motor 46 stops turning due to an unshown limitswitch for detecting the turning of the holding means 14.

When the outer slider 140 moves forward until the pin 22b comes toposition H of FIG. 16(b) as the fourth stage, the pin 2d of the selectedtray 2 descends into the intermediate stage entering portion 82k andthereby the selected tray 2 and the selected CD descend and the selectedCD mounts the turntable 97 as shown in FIG. 25.

At the generally same time as this, the outer slider 140 and theseparating cam 82 move forward, and thereby the regulation means 18operates and the upper arm 12 of the holding means 14 is moved down bythe action of the holding spring 89 and the CD to be reproduced is heldbetween the turntable 97 and the chuck plate 99.

That is to say, a detailed description of the holding operation is asfollows. When the pin 22b is at position G and the holding means 14occupies the standby position B, the guide pin 12a is located at thehorizontal portion 125a of the guide slot 125 as shown in FIG. 32, andwhen the holding means 14 occupies the reproducing position A, the guidepin 12a moves to the vertical portion 125b of the guide slot 125 asshown in FIG. 33(a), but since the pin 127a cannot be relieved to therelief part of the cam groove 82r of the separating cam 82, the guidepin 12a cannot descend due to hindrance of the back face of therestriction lever 127.

Next, when the pin 22b moves to position H, since the separating cam 82also moves forward, the pin 127a can be relieved to the relief portionof the cam groove 82r as shown in FIG. 33(b) and the pin 127a of therestriction lever 127 pressed by the spring 128 moves up toward therelief portion of the cam groove 82r of the separating cam 82 and thebackward part of the restriction lever 127 descends. Due to this, asshown FIG. 34 the upper arm 12 pressed by the holding spring 89 descendsand the selected CD 171 is held as described above.

The turning center of the holding means 14 is positioned at a highaccuracy on the bottom plate 1e by inserting the pole 92 stood on thebottom plate 1e into the hollow shaft 86 being the turning center of theholding means 14, and the positioning pin 119 is held in a state whereit is pressed against the pickup elevator 10 by the toggle spring 120,and therefore the turntable 97 and the chuck plate 99 are accuratelypositioned on a circumferential locus.

On the other hand, since the guide pole 23 for guiding a tray 2 carryinga CD 171 is also stood on the bottom plate 1e in the same way as thepole 92, the CD 171 is also accurately positioned on the bottom plate1e. Therefore, the center of the CD 171 to be reproduced, the center ofthe turntable 97 and the center of the chuck plate 99 coincideaccurately with one another, and the CD 171 is securely held.

As the final fifth stage, when the outer slider 140 moves forward untilthe pin 22b comes to position I of FIG. 16(b), the pin 2d of theselected tray 2 descends into the lower stage entering portion 82m asshown in FIG. 21(a) and the selected tray 2 which has been in contactwith the selected CD until that time descends as shown in FIG. 26 toleave the selected CD 171 and at the same time, the receiving portion 2hof the plate spring 2e which has pressed the selected CD 171 is pushedup by the lower face of the upper stage entering portion 82j of thebackward portion of the separating cam 82 and thereby the selected CD isreleased as shown in FIG. 27. An essential part under this state isshown in FIGS. 35(a) and 35(b).

Since at this time the trays 2 under the selected tray 2 are pressed bythe underside 82h of the separating cam 82 and the trays 2 over theselected tray 2 are pressed down by the coil spring 24, the trays 2 areprevented from vibration caused by vibration of a vehicle.

After the selected CD is held by the holding means 14 in such a way, theCD is reproduced in a state where the holding means 14 is held atposition A as shown in FIG. 31. When the spindle motor 96 rotates first,the CD is rotated through the turntable 97.

Next, when a motor 165 for scanning the pickup unit 16 rotates, itsrotation is transferred to the screw shaft 164 and the optical pickup162 moves along the screw shaft 164 from the inside toward the outsidein a radial direction of the CD, and the reproducing of the CD isperformed.

As described above, the selected CD 171 is easily and smoothlyreproduced at the same position as the position held on the selectedtray 2. Therefore, it is not necessary to produce a clearance by movingthe CD in the planar direction as done in the conventional method shownin FIG. 35. Further it is possible to decrease the size of the apparatusand thereby make the apparatus small in size.

After the CD has been reproduced, when the screw shaft 164 is reverselyturned and the optical pickup 162 returns to its original position, thescanning motor 165 stops turning and the spindle motor 96 also stopsturning. After this, according to a reverse procedure to theabove-mentioned procedure, the outer slider 140 moves backward and theseparating cam 82 also moves backward.

As shown in FIG. 21(b), when the pin 127a returns from position H toposition G, the pin 127a of the restriction lever 127 which has been atthe position of FIG. 33(b) comes off from the relief portion of theseparating cam and moves down as shown in FIG. 33(a) and the backwardpart of the restriction lever 127 moves up. Due to this, the guide pin12a projecting outside from the holding means 14 is pushed up along thevertical portion 125b of the guide slot 125 and the holding means 14comes into a state where it can be turned.

After this, an unshown sensor detects that the guide pin 12a has movedup, the transfer motor 46 is turned in the reverse direction to theabove-mentioned direction and the holding means 14 is turned to thebackward side. And when the positioning pin 119 which has occupiedposition a of FIG. 10(b) passes position c being the inflection point,the pressing force of the toggle spring 120 acts in the oppositedirection and turns the positioning pin 119 to position b as shown inFIG. 10(a), and the holding means 14 returns to position B being thestandby position.

Due to an unshown limit switch for detecting the turning of the holdingmeans 14, the transfer motor 46 stops turning. Since the holding means14 is pressed backward by the toggle spring 120 even at the standbyposition, it is not influenced by vibration of the vehicle.

After this, when the outer slider 140 moves backward and the pin 22breturns to the standby position D of FIG. 16(b), the separating cam 82also moves backward and all the first to third trays 2 descend andreturn to the state of FIG. 22 where the six trays 2 are not separated.

In case of reproducing a CD other than the second CD from the top, theinner slider 139 is made to move forward or backward from the state ofFIG. 16(a) and the pin 22b is made to relatively move to one ofpositions 1, 3, 4, 5 and 6 given to the inner slider 139 in the figure,and thereafter the outer slider 140 is slid and positions D to I on theouter slider 140 of FIG. 16(b) are fitted to the pin 22b in order, andthereby the same operation as described above can be repeated.

As described above, the caught state of the disc is released at thegenerally same position generally as the caught position of the discwithout moving in the plane direction, and the disc mounting means isseparated from the disc. Therefore, since it is possible to execute thereproducing and recording operations by turning the disc at thegenerally same position as the disc caught position, it becomesunnecessary to move the disc in the radial direction (plane direction)during the reproducing and recording operations. This enables thestorage dimension in the radial direction of the disc to be small, andtherefore it becomes possible to largely decrease the apparatus in size.

By making the changeover slit 146 longer, it is possible to make higherthe lowest position of the insertion/ejection mode slit 144 and make thedisc elevator 22 stay at a higher position when the pin 22b comes to theposition of FIG. 12. Due to this, it is possible to make higher theinsertion/ejection opening 4 for a CD.

And the above-mentioned embodiment has assumed that the number of traysforming the disc storing portion is six, but it may be less or more thansix. Furthermore, this embodiment uses trays shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, butmay use a pair of carrying pieces obtained by cutting out portions shownby the alternate long and two short dashes lines in the figure, leavingonly both side portions carrying the outer circumferential portion of aCD and removing the middle part of the aluminum plate 2a.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The above-mentioned embodiment is a disc player for reproducing a soundwhich a disc recording and/or reproducing apparatus of the presentinvention is applied to, but the present invention is not limited tothis but may be applied to an apparatus for recording a sound, anapparatus for recording and reproducing a sound, or an apparatus forrecording and/or reproducing not only a sound but also an image. And theabove-mentioned embodiment has been described on the assumption that thedirection in which trays are stacked one over another is the verticaldirection, but the direction in which trays are stacked one over anothermay be the horizontal direction. This embodiment uses a disc of 12 cm insize, but can be also applied to a disc having another size such as 8 cmor the like.

1. A disc recording and/or reproducing apparatus comprising: a catchingmeans for catching a disc to a first location, said catching means beingprovided in a disc mounting means for mounting said disc; a releasingmeans for releasing said disc from said first location after seatingsaid disc to a turntable, said seated disc is not offset in a planardirection with respect to said first location; a reproducing means foraccessing data of the disc, said reproducing means having a base fixedin location with respect to the disc recording and/or reproducingapparatus; and a separating means for separating said disc mountingmeans from said disc in a condition that said disc is set on saidturntable; wherein the base of said reproducing means is not offset in aplanar direction during the accessing of data.
 2. A disc recordingand/or reproducing apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein saidcatching means comprises a plate spring which presses a face of acircumferential portion of said disc.
 3. A disc recording and/orreproducing apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said catching meanscomprises at least two members which are apart from each other.
 4. Adisc recording and/or reproducing apparatus as claimed in claim 1,wherein said catching means comprises a first plate spring which pressesa face of a circumferential portion of said disc and a second platespring which presses another face of the circumferential portion of saiddisc.
 5. A disc recording and/or reproducing apparatus comprising: acatch, receiving a disc to a first location, said catch being providedin a disc mount that mounts said disc; a release, releasing said discfrom said first location after seating said disc to a turntable, saidseated disc is not offset in a planar direction with respect to saidfirst location; a reproduction unit that accesses data of the disc, saidreproduction unit having a base fixed in location with respect to thedisc recording and/or reproducing apparatus; and a separater thatseparates said disc mount from said disc in a condition that said discis set on said turntable; wherein the base of said reproduction unit isnot offset in a planar direction during the accessing of data.
 6. A discrecording and/or reproducing apparatus as claimed in claim 5, whereinsaid catch comprises a plate spring which presses a face of acircumferential portion of said disc.
 7. A disc recording and/orreproducing apparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein said catchcomprises at least two members which are apart from each other.
 8. Adisc recording and/or reproducing apparatus as claimed in claim 5,wherein said catch comprises a first plate spring which presses a faceof a circumferential portion of said disc and a second plate springwhich presses another face of the circumferential portion of said disc.9. A disc changer, comprising: a front face plate including an insertionslot; a plurality of trays, each tray of the plurality of traysconfigured to support a disc in a predetermined position, the discreceived from the insertion slot of the front face plate of the discchanger to the predetermined position; a separating mechanism configuredto separate a tray of the plurality of trays having a selected disc,from others of the plurality of trays, the separation from the others ofthe plurality of trays defined by a first side space and a second sidespace; a moving mechanism configured to position a chuck plate in thefirst side space, and, position a turn table and reproducing unit in thesecond side space, wherein, said reproducing unit accesses the selecteddisc located between the chuck plate and the turn table for reproductionof content thereon, the disc being accessed at the predeterminedposition in a planar direction.
 10. The disc changer according to claim9, wherein the disc is located between the chuck plate and the turntable upon operation of the separating mechanism.
 11. The disc changeraccording to claim 9, further comprising: an eject mechanism configuredto urge a peripheral edge of the disc from a corresponding tray of theplurality of trays according to the operation of the separatingmechanism.
 12. The disc changer according to claim 9, wherein the movingmechanism positions a holding unit, the holding unit including the chuckplate, the turn table and reproducing unit.
 13. The disc changeraccording to claim 12, further comprising: a guide member configured toaccurately position the plurality of trays within the disc changer; anda shaft configured to provide a turning axis for the moving mechanism,wherein the guide member and shaft extend in a parallel direction from abase plate of the holding unit.
 14. A recording/reproducing apparatusfor writing/accessing content of a selected disc medium of a pluralityof disc mediums, comprising: a front face plate including an insertionslot; a plurality of trays, each tray of the plurality of traysconfigured to support a disc medium in a predetermined position, thedisc medium received from the insertion slot of the front face plate ofthe recording/reproducing apparatus to the predetermined position; aseparating mechanism configured to separate a tray of the plurality oftrays having a selected disc medium, from others of the plurality oftrays, the separation from the others of the plurality of trays definedby a first side space and a second side space; a moving mechanismconfigured to position a chuck plate in the first side space, and,position a turn table and reproducing unit in the second side space,wherein, said reproducing unit accesses the selected disc medium locatedbetween the chuck plate and the turn table for reproduction of contentthereon, the disc medium being accessed at the predetermined position ina planar direction to write/access content to/from the selected opticaldisc medium.
 15. The recording/reproducing apparatus according to claim14, wherein the disc is located between the chuck plate and the turntable upon operation of the separating mechanism.
 16. Therecording/reproducing apparatus according to claim 14, furthercomprising: an eject mechanism configured to urge a peripheral edge ofthe disc from a corresponding tray of the plurality of trays accordingto the operation of the separating mechanism.
 17. Therecording/reproducing apparatus according to claim 14, wherein themoving mechanism positions a holding unit, the holding unit includingthe chuck plate, the turn table and reproducing unit.
 18. Therecording/reproducing apparatus according to claim 14, furthercomprising: a first roller configured to rotate about an axis totransport the disc in a planar direction from the insertion slot to theplurality of trays; and a pair of second rollers configured to rotateabout an axis perpendicular to the planar direction to urge the discpositioned by the first roller to the predetermined position.